A New Face
by personnumber91
Summary: a young girl passes through novac, finds an ally to fight alongside her in her quest to breach the fortress of the bull. fallout new vegas. c. boone &o/c
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

**The Girl**

Early morning. Nine a.m. Manny's on lookout and I'm supposed to be in my room, sleeping, getting ready for the night shift. Why am I out here in the scorching wastes under the shade of Dino when I could be in my room resting? Because Manny's on lookout. It's not that I dont trust him, but this is Manny, he may be my partner and former NCR buddy but could he put a bullet between a Fiends eye from eight hundred yards away ?No. You know who can? Me. That's why I'm out here. Trouble comes a'knocking, I'm ready.

I do this sometimes when things have been quiet for too long. That's how you know shits gonna hit the fan real soon. And I know Manny's not equipped to handle it alone. It's been three days since i got a decent amount of sleep, three days of camping out under the belly of Dino near the entrance to Novac. So far its been an uneventful morning. I start to doze...

"Outsider!"

Manny. He startled me awake, I got up quickly. From the position of the sun I see it's early in the afternoon. In the distance I can see a figure walking next to an under packed Brahmin. It comes closer closer closer. A woman of average height clad in reinforced leather armor, shotgun strapped to her back; a small firearm at her waist and on the other side... a big ass machete. As she nears I can see her head is wrapped in a brown scarf, unusual headgear in the wastes. I can only see the gap where her eyes should be, the sun behind her. Damn sun. Can't see shit. I place my hands above my face, a movement I'm able to make thanks to Manny's cover. I walk closer to her, meet her in the open where Manny would have a good shot. She stands a few feet away. I keep my eyes on her hands, looking for sudden movements.

"You're about to enter Novac, please state your buis...", her eyes. Their my wifes eyes. My baby, my Carla. But it couldn't be. I killed her, "...ness"

"Rest and aid."

I cant stop looking into them. Sharp and brilliant, peircing. the same honey brown color too. But that's impossible. I put the bullet in her head myself, no time for this bullshit.

"I'm going to need you to hand over all the weapons you are carrying. You will be searched."

.44 magnum revolver, hunting shotgun, machete gladius, six grenades. Not your typical caravan gear but nothing too suspicious. Complied with no hassle,"And you will need to remove your headgear. Identification purposes."

She glared at me for a second but proceded reluctantly. She pulled the bottom half down first. Slid over the nose. Not Carla's. It was shorter, the bridge was wider, the tip rounded and pointed upwards. Down the mouth. Not Carla's. It was shorter too, but the lips were plump and a shade of red that looked like blood in the sand. She put her hand over her head and pulled the hood down with one swift maneuver. Deep brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. Now i could clearly see the outline of her face. Round and small. Delicate almost. Her skin a warm shade of brown gave an image of a happy childhood under the mojave sun everywhere you looked, except her eyes. They were large compared to her other features, perfectly almond shaped, brought you back from the hot sands and gave you chills; perfectly framed by black eyebrows, thick lashes. her hands moved no further.

"I didn't say pull it down, I said take it off."She challenged me this time.

"You can see my face can't you? I'm **IDENTIFIED **right?" She glared at me. She's hiding something . I already know what.

"You can either take it off or turn around and leave." We stood there nearly a full thirty seconds. She complied.

Just as I figured. Collar marks. And not from your run of the mill slaver either. Legion. When they put slave collars on you, they do it in a very specific way. Loose enough to breath. Tight enough to not want to. They don't do it just for fun either; done correctly it leaves a very distinguishable mark that never heals over time. On both sides of the neck are square shaped indents colored red by trapping in the blood, a bolt is left pressing on the skin in the middle so it leaves a white mark. When removed the white blotch resembles a bull-like figure in a red field. Sign of the Legion. It's how they find runaways.

She kept her eyes averted while I inspected her. She knew I knew. I enquired no further. Handed her scarf back, quickly wrapped it around her neck; left her face uncovered.

"I'll need to inspect your Brahmin." Nodded her head once.

The beast was calm. Both heads sniffing the ground looking for roots. It really was under packed. I wonder why she bothered to bring one at all, could of traveled faster without one. A bedroll was strapped to it and two duffel bags. The bedroll was empty. Nothing in the bags but various food stuffs, bottles of dirty water, and... hm, a Deathclaw hand. That's unusual. All clear.

"Alright you're free to proceed. Here are your weapons. I'll need your name."

"Anna."

"Anna what?"

"Just Anna."

"Alright then. My names Boone and up there's Manny. We're the guns around here. Don't start any trouble and if you need anything just let me know." Why did I just say that?

"'Kay. Later." As she walked away I noticed a slight limp in her step. Minor injury probably. Deathclaw probably. If she's walking away with just a limp she must be one tough woman. Or was it girl? She didn't look older than twenty.

The day passed without incident. No other travelers passed through. It was quiet. Thought I could get some sleep but was distracted by that Anna girl/woman and her not Carla eyes. She was tying up her Brahmin, walking around, talking to people. Night time rolled in and my shift began. Passed Manny on the stair leading up to Dino's mouth.

"Hey what was up with that caravan chick?"

"Nothing. just a minor miscommunication."

"Oh man was that some fine looking tail. Rarely see that outside the strip. Manage to catch her name?"

"... Anna."

"Anna." He started walking away. Anna Anna Anna all the way down.

Up in the mouth you can see for miles into the mojave. Just at home for an ex-First Recon. Just me and my hunting rifle. And my red beret. The night passed without incident. In the morning Manny came in to relieve me.

"Man did i blow it with that Ariel chick."

"Anna."

"Right. You know she probably goes the other way. She really wasn't into me. Yea I think that's it."

"Maybe." Time to leave. I started for my room for some much need rest. Headed down the stairs, past Briscoe and his shop, out the belly of the beast. More stairs. Walked the lobby and headed up... more stairs. On the top landing I found Anna smoking her breakfast smoke.

"Good morning." She said without turning.

"Morning." I was planning on walking past her but she turned and blocked my escape.

"About what you saw yestaday. You dont report on that kind of stuff do you?"

"If we see anything suspicious we are obligated to inform Ranger Andy, who will inturn radio in Ranger Station Charlie in case back up should be needed."

"Oh, well, I was actually refering to the markings..."

"I understand what those markings mean. There was no need to report on it." She let out a sigh of relief. "How long ago did you run away?" It just slipped out. I was tired and needed sleep. Was I genuinely curious about this... Anna?

"Oh its been a good while, about six months but the fear never leaves you. It's embeded in your skin." For a moment she was gazing into nothingness, then snapped back to normal. "Well thanks for not... you know. Thanks."

"I noticed you were limping", need to sleep, "we don't have a doctor so you should rent a room from Jeannie May Crawford. Hundred caps or so", really need to sleep, "Or maybe you should unroll that bedroll on your Brahmin", I'm tired, "also there's a travelling medic that comes into town every few days, so if you stay a while longer..." Where am i going with this? She was no Carla but not bad to look at. Not that I'm looking. Not that I care. She's just a kid, lost and wounded.

"I don't have the caps", she inched closer, " And if I sleep out in the open Manny Vargas will find his way between my bedroll. May ask you for a little favor?"

Kids these days are so manipulative. There was no denying it now, I'm a sucker for those eyes. She was sleeping in the middle of the bed. On her side, knees bent to her chest. Hands by her head one under the pillow, holding a knife no doubt. Like I would try anything. I was sitting on the couch on the opposite side of the room, quietly observing. She slept peacefully, all the worry erased from her face. Dreaming of the horrors from her Legion days probably. Although, judging from her appearance, the lack of other scars on her visible skin, maybe they weren't so horrible. She was probably a mistress to some Centurion with that face, if not to Caesar himself. My eyes eventually wandered to her face, those eyes...

Memories of Carla came in all too clear. We met in New Vegas. The strip. She lit it up brighter than any light. The most beautiful among among all the beauties, all the city, all the wastes. I gravitated towards her just like every other man did. Why she settled for me I'll never know but I was the happiest son of a bitch you'd ever seen.

Neon lights are bright. Close your eyes then. Hear that Boone? City sounds are deafning aint they? Shhh baby, just sleep. The lights of the strip will keep us warm.

Carla, baby, I'll see you soon.

A few hours later I woke to a freezing bald head. Berets gone. Someone had draped a blanket over me. Anna. No where in sight. Went outside, she was sitting on the steps beret in hand.

"You're NCR. First Recon."

"Ex."

"You were at Bitter Springs?"

"I'd really like my beret back please."

"How was it?"

"You already know." She stood up, fixed my beret onto my head. Perfect.

"Massacre. Do you still think about it?"

"I try not to."

"Is that why you left? I mean being First Recon must've been pretty cushy, well, as cushy as NCR can get . It's not often you see a red beret patrolling a small town like Novac."

"No that's not the reason." Started walking away, down the stairs. Anna followed behind.

"So you were okay with what you did? I mean they were tribals, Great Khans, baddest of the bad, they probably didn't give you any option other than to fight, right? But mowing down innocent women and children just like that? How does that not stay in your conscience? How can you live with that image in your mind?"

Snap.

" Because you have to. Because when you're NCR you can't say no to your superiors. You kill who they want you to kill so they can keep their hands clean, so that they don't have to dream this shit every fucking night!" We were past the hotel. In the middle of town where the communal kitchen is. I had screamed at her, to her face, and found that I had reached for the non existant rifle on my back. I noticed she had taken off the armor plating, all that was left were black pants, black shirt, boots. The scarf never left. Noticed that I had also drawn attention to us. The sun had begun to set. Dinner time. Turned back to Anna, her face unchanged. Stoic.

"I'm sorry." Walked past me to the kitchen.

That little... she wanted this. Wanted me to lose it and I lost it. But why? She obviously knew I had been there (there are only a handful of First Recon left) and she knew the details of it, everyone did. So why push it? Was she testing me? My patience? My memory?

The crowd had dispersed and followed Anna into the kitchen. I went too. Got a squirl-on-a-stick. Turned to see Anna... and Manny sitting next her, leaning in close chatting away. Anna's face said it all. Manny caught me looking, a smile spread on his face. He winked and nodded towards Dino. Guess my shift starts early. Grabbed another squirl and a bottle of water and went on my merry way.

In the mouth of Dino I was already in hour into my shift when Anna came in.

"Ahhahha, Boone guess what? I'm drunk."It was dark in the maw of the beast but I could clearly see red splotches on her cheeks in the moonligh. Her unsteady eyes couldn't keep focus but she was surprisingly steady on her feet, even with a limp. She came in and leaned against giant teeth.

"Oh. Good for you."

"Your little friend Manny thought he could liquer me up and get me to bed but I drunk him under the table yessiridid! passed out cold."

"So you're a pro huh? I thought the Legion banned alcohol and drugs?"

"Jussst cause their banned dont mean you can't find none."

"Maybe you should drink some water. Sober up a little." She pulled out a bottle of water. Noticed it was fresh and cold, not the dirty kind she kept in her pack. It came from the kitchen.

"You paid for that right?" You could hear the water stop at her throat.

"Course I did." Not.

"Thought you were broke, where'd you get the caps?" Gulp gulp finish.

"Found some." Manny's drunked corpse.

"Guess he got what he deserves." She smiled.

Anna stayed a while longer. When she began to doze I shook her awake, told her to go back and get some sleep.

"Alright. Manny said the doc would most likely be coming into town tomorrow," a sinking feeling came to my chest, "Guess I'll have to wake up early. Then it's back to the road. Good night." She turned and left.

Why did I not want her to leave? It had to be more than just her Carla eyes. She, for the most part, didn't look like Carla, didn't talk like Carla, didn't act like Carla. So why? Slowly an answer came: even though Anna was no Carla she brought memories of her. Good memories. If Anna left Carla might leave too. I hadn't thought about those days for so long, and when I did a depression always accompanied it. But it was different this time, I could actually hear her. She sounded like she did back in Vegas; happy. I couldn't let her go again. For now if Anna left, I would leave too.

In the morning Manny came bursting in.

"So now I know why she didn't want it. She was already getting it from you. So I guess Carla's old news now huh?"

"What?" No one talked that way about Carla, to my face.

"Amy. I saw her walk into your room last night."

"Anna. And I wasn't even in my room. I was on duty."

"So she's waiting for you is she? You asshole! You know I wanted her! Now how long am I gonna have to wait for some other scooch to wander into this dump? I can't believe you!"

"One: I'm not sleeping with Anna. Two: I don't care how far back we go, you talk about Carla again and I'll be the one to put a bullet through your chest. Now, got anything else you want to say to me or are you gonna get to work?" He said nothing. Shifted on his feet, averted his eyes. Moved around me to take his post. I left him to think about what he said.

In my room I saw Anna on the couch. Eyes closed but not sleeping. I sat on the bed, layed down. Closed my eyes.

"Boone."

"You're headed back to the Legion."

"Yes."

"You're going to fight your way through."

"If I have to."

"You need muscle."

"I need fire power."

"Then I'm going with you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: I apologize for any misinformation or inaccuracies. The vault wiki helped out alot but i might have missed some stuff. Hope you enjoy what i got.**

**Chapter 2**

**The woman**

Killing Legion. I'd jump at any chance to watch those fuckers die. It was personal to both Anna and I. Although I was unclear on her reason; It was obviously more than just being their slave. If it was just that she would have ran like the others, ran out of the mojave. Into some other wastes. Anything was better than the Legion. Those dogs. Mongrels. Maybe they'd taken away someone from her too. Most likely. That's how they operate. Slash and burn. Salvage what's left.

I had gone outside to wait for the doc. Anna was inside, waiting. It was already around eleven when the doctor finally came. She was accompanied by a pack Brahmin and two unpaid bodygaurds. I met her by the entrance to Novac. Pointed features. Black hair tied back neatly. Bloodied doctors fatiuges.

"I have an injured girl in my room."

"Oh, rough night I take it?," chuckle, "Alright take me to her." I led her into the lobby nearby. Told her which room. She climbed up by herself leaving three men and a Brahmin. The other men paced nervously as we waited. They chatted, same things they always said. Haven't been paid yet. Man I hope I get some money soon. I aint doin' this shit for free. Half an hour later the doc came back out. "She's all fixed. Wasn't too bad. Sprained ankle, a few fractured bones and some minor lacerations. Deathclaw from what she tells me. Just managed to graze her. Aren't you into some kinky shit?"

"Thanks doc." Handed out her payment.

"She already paid but if you'd like to make a donation..?" There's no way Manny had that many caps on him. He usally spends it all on booze.

"Sure. The next ones on me." She gave a nod of her head and was off. I climbed up the steps. "Found more caps I see." She was on the bed. Pant leg rolled up, super stimpack wrapped around the knee piercing the thigh. Waiting for it to take effect.

"Yes. On my Brahmin."

"Before we leave you need to tell me everything. Tell my why you're so desperate to go back." She was hesitant.

"I... left something there. Something important."

"What?"

"Why don't you tell me why you're so eager to come along?"

"To kill Legion why else?"

"For Carla?" My heart skipped.

"How do you..."

"I did some snooping last night. I found a letter adressed to her, written by you, but there's no one here by that name. She was pregnant. Your wife?" I stood there blank faced. What could I say? I saw her pull out the piece of paper. She pocketed it?

"I... how'd you... give me that!" I lunged at her. On the bed she could only lean the other way, her arm extended to keep the note out of reach. Why would she want to keep that? I was on top of her now while she was waving her arm furiously to keep me from grabbing it. She kneed me in the groin and managed to squirm away a bit as I fell back on the bed. I took the pain and pulled her back just as she had managed to sit up. As I held her arms down something fell out from the collar of her shirt. A long chain with three glass beads. Red orange purple. We were both out of breath.

"Take your damn letter." I let her go. She promptly sat up, left the note on the bed. I took it and placed it where it had been.

"Why would you take it?"

"I wanted something I could blackmail you with. In case you said no. It looked imprtant." Nothing was said for a long time. She broke the silence first. "I'm sorry. I was an ass not to put it back after you agreed, and I guess for taking it in the first place. I'm defencive when it comes to my past with the Legion. For my reason of going back. Will you still come?"

"Yes." I was more embarrassed that she had read it than angry that she had taken it. Damn those eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. I wont ask again if you don't." Reasonable.

"How are you doing?"

"Better."

"Good. We leave tomorrow so start packing what you need. You can find supplies at Briscoe's shop inside Dino. If you need anything repaired Old Lady Gibson's junkyard is down the road. When you're done rest up. We leave at dawn." She removed the empty stimpack and rolled down her pant leg. Tucked the necklace back inside her shirt. We made our way through Novac buying what we needed.

Before dinner I head up into Dino's mouth to talk to manny.

"So you're dumping it all on me huh? So you can run off with Alice?"

"Anna. I'll come back in a few days. In the meantime you should call the Mojave Outpost, have them send in a few recruits."

"Oh so what, you think I can't handle this shit on my own? You think I need you to babysit me? Just watch, I have this bitch down."

"Okay then. I'll come back in a few days." After a day I know he'll call. Can't stay up for more than a few hours.

In the kitchen Anna and I ate in silence. Chatter around us and we didn't jump in. Too busy forming plans in our heads. When we finished we headed up to my room for a long rest. We slept on my bed. Head to toe. Fully clothed.

When I woke up, it was still dark out. No light shone through the cracks of the boarded up windows. The bed felt empty.

"You're up. Get ready." Anna. She was sitting on the couch eating a Fancy Lad cake. It looked like she had bathed. Good idea. It would be a while.

Outside she was standing near the Brahmin. Packed and ready to go. I was too. I met her near the entrance. A blue purple horizon behind her.

"Ready?"

"Let's go." We walked, the Brahmin between us, down Highway 95.

In a few minutes we would pass by the Vipers encampment. Trouble. A pack of ruthless raiders that killed anyone unlucky enough to wander by. They're difficult to take down because of the metal armor the leaders wear. Regular bullets jump off but Anna had crafted some armor piercing ones. Only had a few though. But lucky for us something had already finished them. Dead bodies littered the ground, we scavanged what we could. Healing powders, various ammunition, broken down weapons, food stuffs. As we looted the place I heard grunting noises coming from deeper in the camp. Told Anna to keep low and headed to investigate. Four Golden Geckos were feasting on a dead Viper. Their claws tearing open the armor to get at the flesh underneath. We could easily take them down; they had already been weakend considerably, but we had to avoid unnecessary combat to conserve supplies. Legion armor is thick and they're well armed. I motioned over to Anna to sneak past. She knelt down and used a large hill as cover, slowly maneuvering the Brahmin. The geckos were too busy to notice.

We continued down the 95. Past the wrecked Highway Man down into Snyder Prospector camp where a single prospector sat in a chair drinking a Sarsaparilla. As we passed I looked back, he had disappeared. To the west we passed the Coyote Mines where the prospectors rest and the Gold Caves nearby. We were headed to Camp Searchlight where there was a strong Ranger Outpost. On our way down we encountered Feral Ghouls clad in NCR armor. Something was wrong. As we neared an eerie green fog rolled in. The town came into view. Some Rangers where on its outskirts. One of them came towards us.

"Stop right there. Camp Searchlight has become heavily irradiated and infested with feral ghouls. I suggest you turn around."

Anna stepped up, "What happened?"

"Some Legion scum snuck into the camp and set off some sort of radioactive bomb. Most of the soldiers died in the explosion but the ones who survived have turned feral. Luckily for my men and I we were on patrol while it happened."

"Why are you still here?" I asked.

"To warn people of the dangers and keep them away. Lot's of caravans still come by. Some people still go in. Never see 'em come out. If you wanna go too be my guest. Just don't expect us to fish your corpses out."

"Alright thanks for the warning."

"Sir." The soldier left. Anna turned to me.

"So now where do we go?" It didn't take us long to get there, considering the distance, but it was already dark. Don't know the time.

"I know a place not far from here. About an hour due east."

"Alright, let's go." We got off the road and headed up the hills.

Sniper's nest is a small outpost overlooking Cottonwood Cove. This is where I last saw my wife. There was a fire pit in the center and a small shack near it. Anna went to go tie up the Brahmin. I started a fire. When I had it going I sat on one of the planks on the floor. Anna came over with a duffle bag full of food. Opened the bag and pulled out two pieces of Brahmin meat, some boxes of Instamash, cans of pork and beans, some bottles of water. As she was rummaging for some pots and plates something fell out. The Deathclaw hand.

"I've been meaning to ask you Anna,"

"Yea?"

"How did you ger injured when there aren't any Deathclaws near Novac?"

"Oh, that's a long story."

"I'll listen."

"Well if you really wanna hear it: I was passing through Ranger Station Echo to find some supplies. While I was there I heard two Rangers talking about this place called 'Deathclaw Promontory' east of Cliffside Prospector camp. They said a bunch of prospectors had recently crossed the river to reach it because there was a rumor that rare loot was to be had but haven't been heard from since. It made me unnaturally curious so I decided to check it out. When I reached the camp I tied up my Brahmin (I had two then) and swam to the other side. As soon as I stepped onto the sand this huge grupe of Deathclaws came out of nowhere and came at me. Not that I can't handle myself with up close combat but if you saw what I saw you'd turn tail and run too. I threw my ass back in the water and swam like hell."

Couln't help but chuckle.

"Normally Deathclaws give up when it comes to swimming but when I reached the shore I didn't notice that a large one had followed me. When I turned around I barely had enough time to get out of the way. It grazed my shoulder but still knocked me down. I scrambled back up though as soon as I hit the ground and tried to make a run. Unfortunately for me, as soon as I got back up it took another swing at my legs with the back of its claw. It flung me back pretty far and heard some things break as I fell. It started running for me and all I could do was fire my shotgun at it. Not that it did much."

"So how are you still here?"

"Well it just so happened that a group of Brotherhood was nearby. They had been watching the whole thing and decided to help me out in the knick of time."

"That was lucky. They usually don't care for civilians."

"Yea well not so much. Turned out they were lost and where in in desperate need of supplies. They asked if I could 'help them out'. As soon as I agreed they shot one of my Brahmin, took the meat and most of my stuff. But they were kind enough to leave a single stimpack for my injuries. I couldn't tell them off because there were three of them and just an injured me. I had to let them go."

"And how did that take you to Novac?"

"After I used the stimpack I toughed it out back to the Ranger Station. They didn't have a medic so all I could do was rest. One of the Rangers informed me that there was a small settlement west of the mountains, that I might find help there."

"I see. So that hand belongs to that big guy. What are you planning to do with it?"

"I've heard rumors that you can make a weapon out of it but so far haven't found anyone with the know how."

By now we had finished eating. We were just sitting there. Anna was playing with the Deathclaw hand. Turning it in her hands. Bending the fingers. Making it flick me off. We should of been resting but I didn't feel like going to bed. Her story made me want to open up. Tell her everything. I realized she was more than just a semi Carla look a like. She was a real person with a history. I wanted to know. It had been silent a long time.

"I met my wife on the New Vegas strip. She was beautiful. Talkative. Happy. When Manny talked me into coming to Novac I brought her with me. She didn't like it there. Didn't get along with anyone. A good while ago she had been kidnapped by Legion slavers. I followed the trail to Cottonwood Cove. I saw them from here, where we are now. She was being auctioned off along with other slaves. The entire place was crawling with Legion. I had only my rifle with me. I did the only thing I could think of to save her. I aimed for her head," I felt a sting in my eyes. Blinked tears away. Luckily for me I never take off my sunglasses, even in the dark, "After I came back I realized that someone at Novac must have sold her. Still don't know who... I had always regreted it. Not doing what I should have, rush down there and at least try to save her. But I know I would have been killed and she would have been sold."

"But you did save her. It was the right thing to do. It would have been hell for her and your child. I've seen what they do to pregnant women."

"Was that your situation?" She looked away. It was silent again. "Was it a boy or girl?" She was looking at the ground. Kicking at dirt. The claw limp in her hands. She took in a deep breath. Let out a long sigh and began.


End file.
